Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Here's a vintage photo of the construction work being done to build Dodger Stadium at Chavez Ravine. It was posted up by a twitter account called @Dodgers_History. You should check them out. They've recently put up a bunch of vintage stadium pics from Brooklyn and LA.

Amanda Rykoff: You switched from catcher to power pitcher. What was the adjustment like for you?

Kenley Jansen: It was a tough decision back then. To
me I feel like it was a life learning experience. I almost wanted to
quit and I wanted to ask for my release. I was almost suspended. Talking
to my family and all these people and I decided to give it a try. And
now today -- it took me a year to be in the major leagues -- and today
I’m a closer just doing it.

"My first year of eligibility, I pretty much knew I wasn't going to make
it or anything," Mattingly told ESPN earlier this year. "I don't pay
that much attention to it, to be honest with you. It's to the point now
where it comes up and you're like, 'Oh, it's over,' and you go on."

In other HOF ballot news, Jeff Kent is on the ballot for the first time. Via Chris Haft at MLB.com, "Team success mattered most to Hall candidate Kent".

"When the bell rang for me, I was fighting to win," said Kent, who hit
377 home runs and captured the National League Most Valuable Player
Award in 2000 with the Giants. "All I wanted to do was win. I knew that
if I focused on winning, I would be OK. And it worked out that way."

Panini America is reviving the Donruss Baseball card brand. Via Chris Olds at Beckett, he shares some preview pics for 2014 Donruss Baseball cards; including the Yasiel Puig card on the right.